D. Sangga Buwana/BI & LM, Jakarta – A new initiative to send Indonesian Defense Force personnel to Australia for training in defense management was announced today by the Indonesian Defense Minister, Juwono Sudarsono. The Australian Labor Party, currently in opposition, has initiated the education program.
The announcement was made after Juwono accompanied Indonesia's President Abdurrahman Wahid to a reception for Australian Shadow Minister for the Defense, Steven Martin, and Australian Ambassador in Indonesia, John McCarthy, at the Presidential Palace Jakarta, today.
Juwono explained that the Australian government had sent emissaries to Indonesia to discuss the proposal. The military cooperation concentrates on the education of junior officers in the Navy, Airforce and the Army. "The outcome of this exercise is to improve our managerial defense. Currently we are sending 12 junior officers to Australia," Juwono continued.
When questioned over the President's plans to visit Australia, Juwono said he is unable to predict the time. "I can't say the exact date, or if it is going to be before or after the Sydney 2000 Olympics."
The meeting between the President and the Prime Minister of Australia, John Howard, has been the focus of much speculation and has been sidelined on numerous occasions. The Australian Prime Minister has insisted President Wahid visit Australia before meeting together with East Timorese leaders, possibly in East Timor.
The initiative by the Australian Labour Party, now in opposition, is a clear attempt to develop relations with Indonesia in anticipation of future developments when they may form government.
Juwono also commented on the audit currently underway into the finances of the Indonesian Defense Force (TNI) and National Police. Juwono said that he had ordered the Ministry's general secretary and the inspector general to investigate all institutions and controlled by his ministry and their respective heads.
An internal audit revealed many irregularities in the five enterprises and two foundations owned by the ministry, particularly in PT Asabri and the Setya Bhakti Pertiwi foundation. The final results of the audit will be handed over to the Supreme Audit Agency. The Minister himself told the press last month that funds from the official state budget covered a mere 25% of the forces' costs.
These measures are in compliance with the last Letter of Intent (LoI) signed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which has forced the Indonesian government to draw in non-budgetary incomes into the national budget. If it fails to satisfy the IMF, it may again halt the latest installment of the financial package brokered.
Juwono also stated today the US is also planning to indefinitely halt an arms embargo it introduced after the ballot for Independence in east Timor when the TNI was party to the destruction and mass murder of pro-independence supporters. While the arms ban stays in place, western governments – or prospective governments in the case of the Australian Labour Party – are clearly attempting to forge new links with the Indonesian military. Two US battleships are currently harbored in Surabaya and Indonesian military observers and some non-combat personnel are partaking in the latest multi-national 'CARAT' exercises currently underway in Indonesian territory.